Bab 88: Only the paranoid survives
After collecting his belongings, the guy left the sizable hospital without stopping. His pulse was beating quickly as he made his way towards the hospital's exit. He was making every effort to hide his expression, but his quick movements and clenched fists revealed that he was experiencing a wide range of feelings.
He was seeing objects nearby that nearly caused him to fall. The hospital was a top-notch facility with the appropriate number of beds and moving physicians and nurses. Some individuals participated in the cleanup. The tiny robots that were flying through the air and maintaining the surrounding objects were, however, the hospital's most outrageous feature. The robots had two joints in each of their four limbs, which made them longer and incredibly flexible. They were small and metallic. Each robot had one eye attached to its head, and they appeared to be floating around thanks to some kind of technology that produced almost no sound and ensured that the technology attached to them didn't produce heat for the number of occupants and pose a fire risk. They also had no air pressure that might cause discomfort for the number of occupants.
Looking around, the man briefly believed that he had been abducted by an alien society. The local doctors didn't seem to be from this nation, but the janitors and other hospital staff members appeared to be his countrymen. He was tempted to ask them but held back because he was certain he was currently under surveillance.
Finally leaving the infirmary, he did so with broad strides. If the world of the hospital shocked him, the outside world he saw after leaving it astounded him. It was a metropolis that resembled something out of a fantasy. Buildings that were towering, shiny, and futuristic were everywhere. Wide and well-kept roadways were present. Cars were on the roads, but even more startling was the discovery that automobiles were also in the air, following the roads below. Everything around appeared to be a dream. Even more incredible was how much vegetation there was in the city despite all the futuristic surroundings. On the tall buildings, vertical farming was practised, and there were many trees placed alongside the roadways. The trees, bushes, and vertical gardening that was taking place all around were being maintained by robots.
At this point, the guy began to saunter around. He couldn't believe he was in North Korea and was already experiencing weakness in his legs as he looked around. He didn't always think he was in North Korea; only occasionally did he hear individuals on the streets speaking Korean with a strong North Korean accent.
He was astounded by the difference as he moved around more. There were plenty of stores with frequent foot traffic, large malls, people dressed appropriately, and it seemed like everything was in its right position. Typically, many people have a tendency to assume that humanity is losing its capacity for emotion as we become more modern and more depressed about our lot in life. This was the typical pattern, but after a half-hour of strolling, he had not encountered any individuals who appeared sad or depressed. Even though the man could see that North Koreans weren't precisely at the top of the social scale and that these people mostly took care of the menial tasks, they still appeared to be cheerful and laughing.
He was in a pinch when he heard someone speak near his ears.
"Seems quite an awesome city isn't it?"
Slowly turning his head, the man was startled to recognise the individual he had first encountered upon opening his eyes in the hospital. Robin was there. Despite Robin's presence, the guy didn't appear to be perturbed. It appeared as though he was waiting for him or another person to approach.
The man nodded his head to agree to the words of Robin.
As he began to move, Robin said, "I'm sure you have queries. Ask away." The man then followed.
"Is this reality?" The man asked.
"Of course it is. Though the technology of dream or VR is quite advanced, it will be quite a waste of time." Robin replied.
The man questioned, "So what changed? The whole world knows that this country is just a failed country and it had been proven numerous times. So why has North Korea so abruptly advanced to such heights?"
"It's because I killed the Supreme Leader and took care of all the people who were harming the country. Then I led a change to the country after its borders were shut down." Robin replied. The man didn't appear surprised that this had occurred because he had already anticipated that this would be the case for half of the response.
"Oh! So you are an alien?" The man asked. Robin grinned as he turned his head to face the stranger.
Robin replied, "Do I appear like one?" More intently observing Robin, the guy failed to spot any characteristics that set her apart from other people. He could tell by Robin's distinctive characteristics that he was from either the Middle East or South Asia.
Finally, the guy replied, "No."
"I am of course human, brought up and raised in India. Due to some circumstances I got my hands into some advanced technology, probably some kind of technology that belonged to an alien civilization. With that I have already started to invade the world in a silent manner. North Korea is my base since it had been isolated and it was quite easy to kill the people who controlled the most power and they didn't even stand a chance." Robin answered in one breath.
The guy trembled for the first time. He expressed surprise that a human would possess such intricate technology and suggested that an alien society somewhere had left their mark. He had only ever read about those types of things in fantasy books, but now he was actually experiencing them.
"I have answered all of your questions, now its time to answer mine." Robin asked. The guy gave a head nod.
"Who are you? I have two over the top AI in the internet and they know almost everything about everybody. Even the farmers, those who live in the most remote areas in Africa and other islands have some kind of records in the Internet, but not you. You don't seem to have any digital footprint."
"My name is Julius. Named after Julius Ceaser. Quite cliché, but that is the truth. I was an orphan in South Korea, until Mr. X took me in when I was 10 years old and named me such . Mr. X heads an organisation that is known to deal with cases which seemed impossible to solve but also quite important from a global perspective. More than a month ago, there had been number of deaths in California and New Mexico. The government failed to get to the bottom of it, so they deployed Mr. X for this case. Mr. X is known for his paranoia and his aversion to electronics, so all the children that he had raised including me had their records taken away from all electronics a long time ago. He was paranoid enough to even delete any video cam footage that might have been taken mistakenly. I was born in a small village and it was quite back in time so I was lucky in a way to be taken by Mr. X."
Robin asked, sceptical of what this man had just said, "You just blathered about your largest benefactor. Isn't that betrayal?" Julius responded while shaking his head.
"No, there were a number of us who were deployed for this case. Mr. X was quite sceptical about North Korea as out of nowhere the country totally isolated itself, stopped its missile testing and flexing its muscles in the world stage. This was quite contrary to what North Korea really operates itself so he sent me, someone who had brought up his whole life in the traditions of Korea and also trained highly to infiltrate any governmental organisation. I was given a small boat right outside the maritime borders of North Korea done in a very covert way and after a day of sailing and almost dying, I was caught. The reason why I am not hesitant to rat out on Mr. X is because it is he himself who had instructed us to do the same thing if we ever get caught. He doesn't want to see his children been tortured or given a miserable life. He might be a paranoid but he was quite confident in his skills that would allow him to escape the eyes of everyone in the world. Since I am already under your hands, it is useless to hide from you. Afterall I love my life."
Robin didn't expect such an answer. He had been quite casual with Julius because in no way Robin was going to let this foreigner just get away from his hands and he was even ready to torture this guy for some answers but everything went against his expectations and it threw him off for quite bit.
"Mr. X seemed to be quite confident that he will never get caught. You have seen the technology around. Do you think, he can hide from us?" Robin asked again.
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